A Private Spanish Feast: A Table of 10 with Chef Ruben Lopez Mesa
Why dine out when a chef can bring the experience to you? Spanish-born chef Ruben Lopez Mesa turns the region’s freshest produce into something special in your home or accommodation. With A Table of 10, enjoy private dining while Ruben does the work and you relax with friends or family.
Ruben's menus are seasonal, local and influenced by the traditions of his Spanish roots. It’s a great lunch or dinner experience for a getaway, family celebration or that girl's weekend you've been planning.
We caught up with Ruben to chat about his Spanish roots, sourcing local ingredients, and what it's like being a chef in the Orange region.
How do your cultural roots influence the dishes you create?
My cultural roots highly influence my relationship with food and the dishes I create. In fact, my cooking is an extension of who I am: you can feel my upbringing in Spain, the recipes I learned from my grandmother & mother & the combination of flavours I recognise as comfort food.
The diversity of the 17 regions in Spain, plus the importance of eating seasonally gives me a unique approach to food here in Australia. Because I absolutely enjoy socialising through food and wine, but in my family it's much more than that - we show our love with our cooking!
On top of that love for Spanish traditions, my experience in hospitality makes me see things now as an Australian. So I can now understand where are the gaps in our community in order to understand and enjoy Spanish cooking. My goal is to see my customers cooking my recipes once per week at home.
As a Spanish food ambassador I take this goal with responsibility to every event I do in town, as well as to others nationally in food expos, cooking demos or TV appearances.
How do you incorporate local ingredients into your traditional recipes?
Due to our cool climate, volcanic soil and high altitude our local ingredients have a very unique personality that goes fantastically with the Mediterranean diet. Delicious extra virgin olive oil, beautiful garlic & exotic saffron make my cooking taste like home. The addition of seasonal crunchy hazelnuts, fresh fruit & floral honey complements my menus very well.
For example, the saffron-infused honey that I use for the 'Catalan Mel i Mató' tapa - a bite of soft cheese with a unique floral & sweet honey that I serve with homegrown thyme.
Another example is my family recipe for olives, which takes me around 3 to 4 months to make and that always WOW my customers. It is definitely the best representation of family, traditions and love for seasonal ingredients.
And of course, the combination of seasonal and local products in my paella dishes, incorporating the best PDO Spanish products - like unique rice and smoked pimentón - all ingredients purchased in local businesses or shops.
What is the best part about living and working in the Orange Region as a chef?
The best part of living and working in Orange is the true embrace of the seasons. The smell of the fireplace in the morning during cold weather, the beautiful colours of autumn, the abundance of fruits thanks to our orchards, the easy access to local food & wine with food markets or straight from the farmers and wineries. The smell of the forest when picking mushrooms, the acidity from the summer berries that make you salivate.
In summary, a sustainable way of living that our families can enjoy & normalise. Understanding that every year, every crop is different! And embracing a rural life that matches the one I grew up with. Where zero waste recipes like casseroles, stews and cooking with whatever you had at that stage, was the normal thing to do.
Some people around the world call it 'SLOW FOOD', however I prefer to use the Spanish term for it called 'cocina de aprovechamiento'. Something that I really advocate, teach in my cooking classes and help others to see and give it a try.